noa_sohpcr_r-0182r-0182sohpcrnoayesOral history interview with Robert R. Sampson, October 9, 2002Sampson, Robert R.Hornsby-Gutting, AngelaAfrican American businesspeople--North Carolina--GreensboroAfrican American pharmacists--North Carolina--GreensboroAfrican Americans--Commerce--North Carolina--GreensboroUrban renewal--North Carolina--GreensboroGreensboro (N.C.)--Economic conditionsAfrican American neighborhoods--North Carolina--GreensboroAfrican Americans--North Carolina--Greensboro--Social life and customsSegregation--North Carolina--GreensboroSampson, Robert R.At the time of this interview, Robert Sampson was running a pharmacy on East Market Street in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sampson describes how urban renewal in the late 1950s and early 1960s affected Greensboro's thriving black shopping district on Market Street. Sampson himself managed to stay ahead of redevelopment efforts, leaving areas destined for change for places he thought more secure. However, most black businesspeople did not expect renewal efforts or see them as inevitable; as a result, they lost their businesses and often found it impossible to rebuild or relocate. While Sampson concedes that the dilapidated buildings on Market Street needed work, he suspects that the choice to seize and redevelop, rather than fund remodeling, was an effort by white Greensboro to dissolve a successful black business district. The effort worked, silencing a lively area and greatly damaging black businesses. This interview provides a look at a black business community's struggle to maintain its coherence in a changing economic climate.The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata.[Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill.Southern Oral History ProgramUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project)University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. LibraryOral histories of the American South (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project))2007TranscriptsSound recordingsOral historieshttp://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/R-0182/menu.htmlText (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 92 kilobytes, 82.9 megabytes.Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.MP3 format / ca. 82.9 MB, 00:45:17Title from menu page (viewed on June 13, 2008).Interview participants: Robert R. Sampson, interviewee; Angela Hornsby, interviewer.Duration: 00:45:17.This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.Forms part of Oral histories of the American South collection.2002-10-09Greensboro (N.C.)Guilford County (N.C.)20090730 094920